Starwood has announced ‘Bring on the Nights’ which will provide 2500 bonus points for every 5 nights (up to 10,000 points for 20 nights) between January 5 and April 30. In addition, hitting 25 eligible nights during the promotion period will award an additional 5000 points. This really isn’t that generous. It’s 500 extra points per night, but only for 5 night increments, so many members will average fewer bonus points (since their total nights will not be in increments of 5). Maxing out the promotion with 25 nights exactly pushes up average earning to 600 points. The first quarter is traditionally slow, so I wouldn’t expect better promotions to be coming along in the immediate term. This is a reflection of the strength of the lodging sector of the economy, Starwood doesn’t need to…
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JetBlue Award Rebate: Get Points Back on Redemption Travel Through January 31
JetBlue is offering you 2013 points back into your account when you redeem points by December 2 for travel through January 31. Registration is required prior to booking. (HT: Wandering Aramean) You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
Business Class Awards Using Delta Miles from the West Coast to Middle East, India, and Elsewhere
I’ve written about how easy it is to find business class availability on Saudia, which you can book using Delta miles. You can even use this to take the whole family to India using Skypesos. This was part of my unscripted, live presentation at the last Frequent Traveler University in Tampa. The L.A. Airspace blog is reporting that Saudia will be introducing serving between Los Angeles and Jeddah. So in addition to New York JFK and Washington Dulles, this third U.S. destination introduces a West Coast gateway from which to fly to the Middl East and beyond on Skyteam. The flight will be operated three times weekly beginning in the second quarter of 2014 with Saudia’s new cabin configuration onboard a Boeing 777-300ER. This is in addition to introducing Toronto service as well. View from…
Whole Foods Testing a Loyalty Program — Stackable With 5x Points Earning
Whole Foods gift cards are now available at office supply stores. I found $25 and $50 cards at Staples. Some readers reported variable amount ($25 – $500) gift cards at Office Depot. The 5x bonus points you earn at office supply stores help take the sting out of (the Whole Foods reputation, deserved or not, as) “Whole Paycheck.” The store’s margins are apparently getting squeezed – by other specialty grocers on the one hand, and by major supermarket chains introducing high-quality organic produce on the other — and so they’re testing out a loyalty program in eight stores across three states. Austin, Texas based Whole Foods Market is currently testing a new loyalty program called Hello 365 in eight stores in Illinois, Indiana and Florida that offers a 10% discount on its private-label line of…
Westin Austin at the Domain I Guess is Kinda Sorta in Austin
Westin Austin at the Domain isn’t downtown. If you need to be in Downtown Austin, you don’t want to stay here, you would face a 20 minute drive without traffic and heading into the city at peak business times it would be much more. But if you need to be north of downtown, it’s a good hotel that often prices much less than downtown alternatives. This four year old hotel is at the back of the Domain outdoor walking mall. There are plenty of restaurants, there’s shopping, and the staff are quite nice. In some ways it’s fairly non-descript, with standard Westin rooms. Here was my view waking up in the morning: The parking lot though gets very full, likely juiced by non-hotel guests. (Parking is free for everyone, as is internet.) Many readers know…
My Favorite Noodle Shop Now Has an A Rating from the Health Department — But is Still Good
I’ve written before about Lam Zhou Homemade Noodle on the edge of Chinatown in New York (here, and here). On a recent visit I was very nervous. The front window now displays an “A” rating from the health department. Ruh-roh. Was it going to be any good? What’s more, the refrigerator with drinks was no longer sitting outside. It was now actually in the restaurant. Not to worry, the interior of the restaurant looked as it ever has before. There’s still the same guy pounding noodles on a table between the dining room and kitchen with his bare hands. The menu is up on the wall. Very little English is spoken, but everyone knows what you mean when you ask for “Number 2, and a Number 11.” The nooodles – both as soup, and on…
The Top 5 Reasons Marriott Rewards Doesn’t Value its Platinum Elite Members
Marriott’s top elite tier requires the most nights to achieve at 75. In contrast, you can become a Starwood Platinum or a Hyatt Diamond after 50 nights (or 25 stays). And yet Marriott Rewards is less rewarding than Starwood and Hyatt — and arguably less rewarding than Hilton HHonors – for top tier elites. No guaranteed late checkout, late checkout is instead on request on day of departure. Award nights don’t count towards status. IHG Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and Hilton HHonors do. Hyatt’s new cash and points awards will. (Marriott will even be alone in not offering cash and points awards.) No confirmed suite upgrades — not at booking or even a few days prior to check-in. Elites aren’t even entitled to standard suites that may be available when they arrive. No breakfast at…
Would You Know Which Restroom to Use at the Jacksonville Airport?
Jacksonville Airport’s concourse C uses artwork to tell passengers which restroom is for men and which is for women. Credit: Jacksonville International Airport If I was designing a restroom, I’ve just place a sign on the men’s side, “Don’t eat the big white mint.” (HT: MSYgirl on Milepoint) You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
Amtrak’s Losses… and Abuse of Their Customers
There’s some interesting new data on Amtrak’s tremendous losses. Amtrak loses on average nearly $100 million per year on meal service. Much of Amtrak’s food spoils, and they maintain full dining car staffing even during periods where ridership is extremely low. The federal government has spent an average of over a billion dollars a year in capital expenditures for the Northeast corridor over the past 40 years. That spending isn’t included when Amtrak claims to make a profit (about about one-fifth that amount) on Northeast corridor services. Amtrak projects a need for $151 billion more for Northeast corridor high-speed rail. It turns out that the belief that Amtrak makes money in the Northeast corridor is based on faulty accounting. For critics who say Amtrak is starved for cash, and deserve greater subsidies, it actually gotten…
What Would You Give to Fly Emirates First Class With an Onboard Shower?
Perhaps the coolest thing in international commercial flight is the Emirates A380 first class… onboard shower. That’s got to be about the most aspirational inflight amenity there is, at least without getting into private or government aviation. Do you have a frequent flyer bucket list? Is there something at the absolute top of it? Have you ever said to yourself, “What I would give…” But would you come anywhere close to doing what this guy did to get what he wanted most? Many of us testicle owner/operators have often claimed that we’d happily donate our (usually left) testicle for something, usually some kind of car. So it shouldn’t be so shocking to hear that some loon is actually doing just that. One nut for $35,000. Which he’s using to buy a Nissan 370Z What’s your…
